format to use for video clip on website – and how to make the clip

[wavedancer]

This is all new to me, so please be patient.

I've been asked to make a short clip (3–5 minutes) from a recording on DVD of a talk, to go on a website.

I've used Handbrake to get the whole recording onto my hard drive and it's now an mp4 which I can play in QuickTime. Is this the format I would use for a website that's obviously not restricted to Mac users? I would prefer not to offer several different formats but will do so if necessary. Nor do I want people to have to go off the site to download the requisite player. As you can tell, I don't really understand how it all works.

What software do I need (preferably free, as I'm not likely to need to use it very much) in order to create and edit clips for the web?


Thank you.

 

[Mydriasis]

Well you basically get the idea, the format you use depends on your audience and the software availble to you.

There basically is QuickTime, Flash, Windows Media and Real. All require the viewer to have a player installed on their computer. I think something like 98% of internet computers have a Flash player (most common), then comes Windows Media, then QT and finally Real.

Since were all mac fans I suggest using QuickTime. You can use QuickTime Pro to compress video into tons of different formats, it costs something like $30 but it's well worth it.

Do you have iLife 06?

 

[wavedancer]

There basically is QuickTime, Flash, Windows Media and Real. All require the viewer to have a player installed on their computer. I think something like 98% of internet computers have a Flash player (most common), then comes Windows Media, then QT and finally Real.

But what format does the file have to be in? Can it be uploaded as .mp4 or does it have to be in a different format?

Since were all mac fans I suggest using QuickTime. You can use QuickTime Pro to compress video into tons of different formats, it costs something like $30 but it's well worth it.

Do you have iLife 06?

No – but I do have iMovie HD (2005).

Thanks for your quick reply, Mydriasis.

 

[Mydriasis]

Yes, .mp4 can be viewed by anyone with a quicktime player and you can put it on the web just like that, but the .mp4 file your getting from handbrake is not the most 'webefficient'.

If download time and bandwidth don't matter your fine, but in most cases you want to reduce the file size a bunch.

I don't know if iMovie 05 can do it, take a look and see what options you get under export. I think you can choose QuickTime and then something like export for web. (I never use iMovie so I don't really know)

Basically you want to reduce the canvas size, drop the frame rate and compress the audio.

 

[wavedancer]

Yes, .mp4 can be viewed by anyone with a quicktime player and you can put it on the web just like that, but the .mp4 file your getting from handbrake is not the most 'webefficient'.

I'm just importing it now – I only just noticed the import option... I'd been wondering why I hadn't been able to get it to open in iMovie. Hmmm.... time remaining is about – umm – 4 hours!

If download time and bandwidth don't matter your fine, but in most cases you want to reduce the file size a bunch.

Ooh, no – they will matter as it's a site we like to be accessible to as many people as possible...

I don't know if iMovie 05 can do it, take a look and see what options you get under export. I think you can choose QuickTime and then something like export for web. (I never use iMovie so I don't really know)

No sign of any export possibility but I'll see what happens when the file has imported...

Basically you want to reduce the canvas size, drop the frame rate and compress the audio.

Wish I'd done that while I was Handbraking it. That in itself took 2 hours. Hey ho.

 

[decksnap]

In iMovie, the export settings are under 'share' I believe.

Couple of notes... Whether in iMovie or QT Pro, there should be a checkbox for 'prepare for internet streaming'. This makes the movie you put on the web show the loading progress bar at the bottom to give users feedback, as opposed to just showing the QT logo while you wait for it to load.

Also, go through all the advanced settings and make sure you have looked at everything. You can drop the audio quality down to save size, drop the dimensions down, and choose from a bunch of different compression schemes.